Field Ornithology: Forest

Date: 5/26/2021
Start time: 7:09
End time: 12:05
Location: Crane Swamp (Northborough, MA)
Weather: 63 degrees at start, 80 degrees by end, partly cloudy in beginning, sunny at end, SW 8mph wind
Habitat: forest edge next to highway (in beginning strip) with white pine, red maple, red oak, paper birch, lady ferns

• forest edge next to calm, slow-moving river with grass up to 2 feet, mostly white pine
• swamp with cattails, tall grass, skunk cabbage, buttonbush, lily pads, dead snags, and American elm
• dense forest dominated with white pines, red maples, and lots of ferns
• meadow of 4 foot tall grass surrounded by forest
• my time was mostly spent in the swamp and next to the river

I began my trip listening to a Song Sparrow sitting on a wire. The highway was beyond a strip of trees behind the Sparrow, which drowned the sounds of the birds. I walked a little further and heard a couple more birds, however, the highway was still too much noise. Once I turned the corner, there was a river and woods on either side. The woods blocked the noise from the highway and I was able to hear a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American Crow, Blue-winged Warbler, Black-capped Chickadee, and an Ovenbird. In the river, there was a male Mallard and a bit further from it was a female Mallard with her four ducklings. She seemed very defensive of her children as I got a little closer to get a picture. I caught a glimpse of a Black-and-white Warbler as well as a Blue Jay as they flew up into a white pine. Today, there were mostly Ovenbirds and American Robins which called out over the rest of the birds. However, I was still able to hear some new sounds (to me) from the Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and Brown Thrasher.
When I got on a trail to the swamp, I was overwhelmed by Red-winged Blackbird calls as well as so many others. I saw a lot of Baltimore Orioles, Catbirds, and Yellow Warblers. I had fun playing some of their calls back to them and seeing their reactions. As I was walking further down, into a mixture of woods and swamp, I got very excited when I heard the amazing song of the Veery. It was far away but I was able to record it on my phone. At the end of the trail, there was another area full of cattails, grasses, and of course, Red-winged Blackbird. I was about to head back on the trail when I saw my first ever Cedar Waxwing! I was so amazed by the dark stripe over its eyes and the soft gradient of its plumage, going from a beige-grey to white. I played some of its calls and it started flying around looking for where it was coming from. While it was searching for the source of the sound, another Waxwing joined it on the same branch.
Once I was out of the swamp, I walked down a road, where a water treatment facility was, and headed into the woods. I heard a lot of familiar calls, the Ovenbird once again, the Red-eyed Vireo, and lots of American Robins. There were only a few new species I heard/ saw like the calls of the Great Crested Flycatcher and White-breasted Nuthatch as well as a sighting of a Red-tailed Hawk. The rest of my trip I struggled with finding new species. I eventually turned back around and followed the trail back to the road, then down the river and back to the parking lot. On my way back, I noticed the same calls coming from the same areas. I heard the Towhee, House Wren, Catbirds, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak all calling from the same patches of woods that I left them in. It reminded me of what we learned last semester in Ornithology, about the areas that birds nest and defend. It would be interesting to know how much each species traveled in a day.

Publicado el mayo 26, 2021 10:53 TARDE por avilensky